The dawn-to-dusk Kerala shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protest the death of a Sabarimala devotee on Friday was a near success amid a few stray incidents of violence that prompted stern police warning.

The 50-year-old Lord Ayyappa devotee had set himself on fire at a BJP protest venue early on Thursday and later succumbed to his injuries at a state-run Medical College hospital, here.

Shops, establishments, markets besides all educational institutions in the state remained closed though private vehicles were seen plying.

The state-run Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was also not operating its services and at Palghat, a group of people who came on two wheelers stoned three buses that were parked at the KRCTC depot.

State Police chief Loknath Behra has issued a stern warning that any trouble makers who try to forcefully down shutters and create impediments would be arrested immediately.

The shutdown also affected the release of superstar Mohanlal’s magnum opus “Odiyan” that was slated to open at 412 theatres across the state.

At several places after the first show at 4.30 a.m., the theatres closed down with an announcement that it will reopen only at 6 p.m.

V.A. Shrikumar Menon, director of the film told the media that this shutdown has affected the opening day’s release and hoped on Saturday things would be normal.

The famed tourist destination at Alappuzha, where there are over 1,000 houseboats also did not operate.

Commercial capital Kochi also wore a deserted look, but a few auto rickshaws were seen operating and the Kochi Metro services were open.

In the state capital here, police escorts were provided to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) buses and also to the vehicles carrying IT staff to the Technopark campus.

Former state BJP chief C.K. Padmanabhan, who has been on an indefinite fast against the manner in which the Left government was handling the Sabarimala issue after the September 28 Supreme Court verdict that allowed all women entry into the shrine, justified the shutdown.

“The protest is aimed at opening the eyes of the authorities,” said Padmanabhan .

The BJP which took out protest marches at all district headquarters as a show of strength, however exempted NEET examination centres and even provided transport facilities to the candidates.

IANS

 The government on Friday accused the Congress of misleading the nation on the Rafale jet deal and tarnishing the country’s image internationally, and demanded an apology from its President Rahul Gandhi.

The government’s attack came in the Lok Sabha soon after a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi’s junked four petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets in a fly-away condition from Dassault Aviation.

“For political gains the Congress tried to mislead the country and tarnish the image of the nation internationally,” Union Home Minister Rajnah Singh said in the Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour citing Supreme Court’s verdict in the Rafale case.

“As the Congress itself indulged in corruption, it tries to drag the BJP to counter the charges. With this thought process, they tried to demean the government and tarnish the nation’s international image,” he said.

Singh said Gandhi should come to the House and apologise before the nation for his allegations.

Earlier, Gogoi said the apex court “sees no reason to intervene” in the defence deal as there was “nothing questionable” in the decision-making process and the bench was not competent to go into the question of pricing and the choice of offset partner by Rafale manufacturer Dassault.

IANS

Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K. Chandrashekhar Rao has rewarded Mohammad Mahmood Ali once again for his loyalty by inducting him into his cabinet and allotting him the Home portfolio.

Ali, a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, was the only Minister to take oath along with Rao on Thursday.

According to a statement from Chief Minister’s Office on Thursday night, KCR has allotted him Home portfolio. Ali was holding Revenue portfolio in KCR’s previous cabinet.

It was immediately not clear if Ali will be Deputy Chief Minister, a post he held in the previous cabinet.

Home, considered a key portfolio, was with Nayani Narasimha Reddy during the first term of TRS government.

Ali, 66, has been with KCR since the latter floated TRS to revive the movement for separate Telangana state in 2001.

The most recognisable Muslim face of TRS, Ali was made Deputy Chief Minister after KCR took over as the first Chief Minister of the new state. There were two deputies to KCR, the other being Kadiyam Srihari, a Dalit leader.

That KCR picked Ali before inducting others in the cabinet underlines the importance he is attaching to the Muslim community, TRS leaders say. He kept the portfolio of minorities’ welfare with him during the first term.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a friendly party of KCR, extended support to TRS, except in eight constituencies in Hyderabad where it fielded its candidates. Several other Muslim organisations also backed TRS, which won 88 seats in the 119-member Assembly

The TRS chief had invited AIMIM to join the government but the party declined the request.

A businessman hailing from Hyderabad, Ali does not have any mass base. He had contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009 but badly lost. He was subsequently made a member of the Legislative Council.

Ali may remain the only Muslim in the KCR cabinet. Since the cabinet size can’t exceed 18 and KCR has to satisfy various groups, the lone Muslim member of Assembly of TRS, Shakeel Aamir, may not be inducted.

Shakeel was re-elected from Bodhan constituency in Nizamabad district.

IANS

Almost one-and-half months after Anupam Kher stepped down as the chief of the Film Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, the government on Thursday appointed B.P. Singh as the new Chairman.

In an official release, the government said: “Government nominates B.P. Singh as the President of the FTII Society and Chairman of its Governing Council, in pursuance of Rule 3 and 22 of the Rules of the FTII.”

It said that the “tenure of B.P. Singh will be for the remaining period of block of three years starting from March 4, 2O17 as per the provisions of Rule 6(1) of the Rules of FTII, Pune, and the explanation given thereunder or until further orders whichever is earlier”.

On October 31, Kher stepped down from the position of Chairman, a year after his appointment, citing his international assignments as the reason.

IANS

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a two-day national council meeting — the largest body of the party — on January 11-12 here to chalk out its strategy for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav announced the party’s programme here at a press conference after a meeting of BJP office-bearers and state party chiefs with party President Amit Shah.

The meeting, to be held at the Indira Gandhi National Indoor Stadium here, is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, party veteran L.K. Advani, several union ministers and members of the party’s national council.

The meeting will take stock of the current political situation and would finalise its programmes for reaching out to the electorate ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“As part of preparation for 2019, seven wings of the BJP are active to take party’s agenda to different sections of the society,” Yadav said. 

Besidees, a series of other meetings are also scheduled to start with a workshop of the BJP Yuva Morcha in Delhi on December 15-16, followed by the convention of party’s Mahila Morcha in Ahmedabad on December 21-22, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“On January 19-20, a convention of Scheduled Castes Morcha of the party will be held in Nagpur, in which BJP President Amit Shah, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Thawarchand Gehlot would be the main speakers,” Yadav said.

The BJP Minority Cell will also hold a two-day national convention in New delhi on January 31-February 1. 

On February 2-3, a national convention of the Scheduled Tribes arm of the party would be held in Bhubaneswar and that of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) would be organised in Patna on February 15-16.

Besides, Modi will address a rally of party’s Kisan Morcha that will be held in Uttar Pradesh on February 21-22. The city for the rally is, however, yet to be decided.

IANS

 Attacking the Narendra Modi government over its differences with RBI Governor Urjit Patel who resigned on Monday midway through his term, former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday said the Modi government thinks it owns the RBI.

He also hoped that the new Governor, Shaktikanta Das, although a vocal supporter of the much-debated demonetisation, would stand up for the central bank’s autonomy.

“This government thinks it owns the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This government thinks the RBI is another department of the government. This government thinks if CBI is listening to them, why is RBI not listening?” Chidambaram said at an event here. 

“This government simply does not understand what a central bank’s independence is,” he added. 

The former Finance Minister slammed the government for its eagerness to get hold of the central bank’s reserves, which apparently became the bone of contention between the government and Urjit Patel and ultimately led to his resignation.

“This government is like ‘I have one hoard of cash, so much cash lying there. I can’t meet my fiscal deficit this year, my GST revenues are less than expected, I have not provided for the food subsidy, I have not provided for Ayushman Bharat programme, and I need money in my election year. What do I do? There is this pot of gold. Now I want to reach that pot of gold’. That’s the only aim of this government,” he said.

Stressing that RBI’s independence is crucial, he said it “worries” him that the government has appointed a perceived “yes man” as the central bank’s boss.

“It worries me that they (government) have appointed two persons to two key posts, both of whom were vocal supporters of demonetisation. It worries me,” he said.

However, he “hopes” that the new RBI Governor would not buckle under pressure from the government and would keep the central bank’s autonomy intact.

“I sincerely hope, and I would appeal to Mr. Shaktikanta Das, that you (Das) are now the RBI Governor. You are no longer ex-Secretary Economic Affairs, you are the Governor of central bank of India. Therefore, you must stand up for the autonomy and rights of India’s central bank,” he added. 

Asked about his differences as then Finance Minister with then RBI Governor D. Subba Rao, Chidmabaram said those were the “usual differences” that Finance Ministers across the world have with their central bank Governors. 

He pointed out that Rao never resigned over these differences unlike the case of Urjit Patel who put in his papers on December 10, around 10 months before his three-year tenure could end. 

He also said that the RBI suffered a blow to its reputation among the world’s central banks due to demonetisation and has not recovered its image to this day.

“Urjit Patel should have walked out on November 19 itself. He delayed his resignation. Perhaps he gave benefit of doubt to the government and thought perhaps the government would retrace its step. But everything that happened after November 19 proved the government was pressing ahead its agenda,” the senior Congress leader said.

Asked if Patel erred in endorsing demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, Chidambaram said: “Of course, he (Patel) was wrong. He should not have called a Board meeting in Delhi, a hurriedly called truncated Board meeting to pass a resolution endorsing demonetisation. He should have stood his ground. He was wrong.”

“He suffered a huge reputational slide by endorsing demonetisation and the RBI suffered reputational damage in the world. I don’t think RBI has recovered its reputation among the central banks of the world after demonetisation,” he added.

IANS

 After holding consultations on Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met party leaders from Chhattisgarh to decide on the Chief Minister in the state.

The Congress central observer for Chhattisgarh, Mallikarjuna Kharge, and state in-charge P.L. Punia met Gandhi at his residence soon after he finished discussing Madhya Pradesh.

Kharge, who went to Raipur on Wednesday, ascertained views of party MLAs individually and apprised Gandhi. 

State Congress unit President Bhupesh Baghel is considered the front runner for the top post while party leaders T.S. Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu and Charandas Mahant are also among the contenders.

The Congress won 68 of the 90 seats in the Assembly elections, ousting BJP from power after 15 years.

Earlier, Gandhi met Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath and party MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, who are both contenders for the post of Chief Minister in the state. Likewise he also met Rajasthan party chief Sachin Pilot and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

IANS

 The Congress on Thursday announced that his party will boycott the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on December 15.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken told reporters: “Congress has decided to boycott the Silver Jubilee — the 25th year of the first sitting of the Delhi Legislative Assembly — as unfortunately, as always in the last four years in Delhi, politics has prevailed over institution building and decency.”

Maken said that winning thrice in a row before moving to Parliament, he was one its youngest MLAs in 1993. “I also became its Cabinet Minister and Speaker (youngest in the country then),” Maken said. 

He said that such historic and democratic celebrations are always “apolitical”.

The former Union Minister said that a Celebration Committee, constituting representatives of all political parties, which have been a part of its 25-year history, should have been constituted.

According to Congress sources, Maken did not get invitation for the event.

“Sheila Dikshitji, who was Chief Minister of Delhi for 15 out of 25 years in the same Assembly, should have been called respectfully by the present Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) or by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel at least over phone, if not personally. The same should have been followed for all former Speakers and CMs,” he said. 

He said that the decision to boycott the celebration was taken after discussing with senior leaders, including Dikshit and former Speakers from the Congress.

On Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L.K. Advani, who was invited by the Delhi Assembly Speaker as the chief guest to the function, had declined the request due to personal reasons. 

IANS

 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Kamal Nath will be sworn-in at a ceremony here on December 17, said the 72-year-old veteran Congress leader, himself, outside the Raj Bhavan here as he came out after meeting Governor Anandiben Patel.

The ceremony will be held at the Lal Parade Ground here

The party won 114 seats in the 230-member House. It fell short by two seats off the halfway-mark, but secured support of a total of 121 MLAs, including Samajwadi Party – one, Bahujan Samaj Party – two, and also of four Independents, to cross the majority mark of 116 seats.

IANS

 In all states of India, failure of the state government results in the imposition of the President’s rule. The process is slightly more nuanced in Jammu and Kashmir, where not the President’s, but Governor’s rule is imposed.

Under the provision of Section 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, Governor’s rule is imposed for six months, but only after the consent of the President of India.

The Constitution of India grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir among Indian states, and it is the only state to have a separate Constitution and regulations specific to it. The President’s rule in other states of India is imposed under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.

Under the Governor’s rule, the State Assembly is either kept in suspended animation or dissolved. If it is not possible to restore state machinery before the expiry of the six-month duration, the provision of Article 356 of the Constitution is extended and the President’s rule is imposed .

The Governor’s rule was imposed on the state for the first time in March 1977, when the Congress withdrew support to National Conference (NC) government led by the late Sheikh Abdullah.

Article 370 of the Constitution of India states that the Parliament and the Union government’s jurisdiction extends over limited matters with respect to Jammu and Kashmir. In all other matters, not specifically vested in federal governments, actions have to be supported by the state legislature.

Among notable differences with other states till 1965, the head of state in Jammu and Kashmir was called Sadr-e-Riyasat, whereas in other states the title was Governor. The head of government was also called Prime Minister in place of Chief Minister in other states.

The Government of India can declare emergency in Jammu and Kashmir and impose Governor’s rule in certain conditions. Matters related to defence, foreign relations, communication and finance of Jammu and Kashmir are under the jurisdiction of the Indian Constitution.

PTI